lesson with Peanut

I made it back to OF this weekend for a lesson. Isabel might not be ready yet, but I was itching to get back in the saddle! And trainer P had a great horse for me to try. Peanut is a registered Paint mare with probably more than a little bit of QH in there. 

don't look at the saddle - just that cute horse! 

She had been living at the fancy dressage barn (where I rode in the Grant Schneidman clinic a few weeks back) and recently moved to OF. According to P, Peanut is tuned up enough to put in a "passable 1st or 2nd level dressage test." So she's not *exactly* a school master, but definitely closer than anything I've ridden before. 

I didn't quite do the mare justice (she may or may not have squealed in protest at one point during our ride), but she was NEAT! 

A very different ride from Isabel tho, for sure. They're almost the same height - but Peanut rides a little taller and covers more ground. She is also MUCH narrower than my big-barreled arab (don't tell Izzy I said that!). And maybe it was just the QH in her, but it felt like she had a lot more lateral movement, compared to Isabel's very up-and-down way of going.

'no pics plz' - peanut

'just applz.'

Our flat work wasn't really anything special - she definitely tattled on me quite a bit! (Plus I'm honest to god gonna blame the saddle for some of it bc damn that thing sucked in every single dimension!). But the moments were definitely there when I was able to soften my contact and get myself in order. She would just stretch down and feel SO fancy! 

P kept telling me to soften my hands and not just set myself against the horse. I didn't really understand what she meant and thought my hands were pretty soft (I kept losing the reins, oops) - but the videos actually show that my shoulders and elbows were pretty rigid the whole ride. 

Plus I struggled a bit to find the right seat at the canter. Again, I want to blame that saddle in part... but probably I could do a better job if there's another opportunity to ride this horse while Isabel convalesces. P wanted me to have less of a 'driving' seat - and wanted me to relax my hips to allow the horse room to move. I *think* I know what she means... but really had a hard time finding the sweet spot and kinda ended up just reverting to a half seat. 

The mare is definitely very sensitive tho - P wanted me really just riding those outside aids to help put the horse together. Also, she has excellent brakes that I kept on tapping without realizing haha. Still not entirely sure what I was doing - but it was obviously something!

why, elbows? whyyyyyy?

The jumping was fine too. I needed to close my leg and put the horse together a little better, which would have allowed us a more organized but forward stride. As it was tho, she was very very good and I actually felt like I could settle in to her rhythm without much effort (despite it being very different from Isabel... and despite the fact that I haven't jumped anything BUT Isabel in 7 months...).

repeat after me: folllllowwwing hannnds

It's both interesting and moderately irritating to see the same exact problems on course crop up with two very different horses... But I also try not to harbor any illusions about some of my weaknesses as a rider. 

video here

for what it's worth, i seriously expected 5 strides down that diagonal line (jumps 4-5)... oops!

All the same tho - even with some bobbles here and there, I had to finish every course by picking bugs out of my teeth bc I was grinning like a fool. This little mare was neat! (Plus - omg riding outside again - aww yissss!)

she was also incredibly sweet on the ground too

Isabel will be returning for lessons at OF in two weeks at the earliest - so I'm hoping to get an opportunity to redeem myself with Ms Peanut in the interim. Just watching the videos and writing out these here thoughts about the lesson has helped me think of ways to make it better next time... so we'll see!  

operation freedom: accomplished!

She's free she's free she's free!! Isabel finally went back out Saturday morning (along with the other 8 sickies) and they could not have been HAPPIER about it haha.

I couldn't even get Princess through the gate without assistance, as her whole herd pressed up against the fence line and Izzy was busy shrieking and striking out. Can't even be mad tho - she just looked sooooo happy. 

video here for the sound effects.... 

and gif version for the general gist

Pretty much all the horses were in ecstasy. It made handling them a little dicey - even with stud chains and three of us on hand.... 

And much bucking and farting and squealing was had by alllllll the horses, but sadly I didn't snap any pics of videos as I was otherwise busy minding that I didn't get accidentally murdered in the mayhem.

'oh hai, do i kno u?' - wick

But really, who could hold it against them? Our horses are accustomed to living outside 24/7 - only going into their stalls for mealtimes and extreme weather. We were very pleased all the same with how the sickies handled the stall rest - they were all pretty resigned and not too unmanageable for barn staff. 

It was asking a lot for them tho - and everyone is much relieved to have all the herds reunited! 

woulda shoulda coulda

So today is show day at Loch Moy. Womp womp. 

I actually *did* find someone (the judge from our first ever two dressage tests, believe it or not) who offered me the ride on any of her lovely selection of three very appropriate horses. 

One is her driving horse - who she described as a very simple and straight forward ride, tho perhaps not the most experienced. The other two are her eventers (one for the long format), and she described them as forward and strong in the bridle - but both very good rides. 

Really, any of these sounded good to me - especially as she was open to me coming to ride them all ahead of time to get a feel for which was the best fit. A very generous offer. 

Her price for all this (plus trailering) was also quite generous, but it was still about twice the entry fee I stand to lose by just scratching. Tempting as it is, it seems a little foolhardy to spend what amounts to three event entries on a single outing without even taking Isabel...

'you wouldn't dare go anywhere without ME' - isabel

Not exactly the same as throwing good money after bad... but kinda has the same flavor?

Luckily she understood and was able to put me in touch with the person in charge at Loch Moy with the hopes that I could apply the entry to their next event on May 24. Her professional opinion was that it's in the event's best interest to dissuade me from showing up with a sick horse - and I happen to agree haha!

The disappointment hasn't quite worn off from missing the beginning of our season (we'll also skip Fair Hill on May 3 so Isabel can get back to 100%), but it'll be a relief to at least recoup the entry fees!

this is practically the same as showing anyway

TOABH: 18 on the 18th

Archie's 18th birthday is almost here! And somehow I've managed to do most of the blog hops - hurray! This one is gonna be on the cheesy side, but whatever #noshame :)

Eighteen on the Eighteenth.

In honor of Archie's 18th birthday, tell me 18 things you love about your horse.

I love that Isabel is a trail riding machine

And equally boss at riding camp games.

She'll gobble up big scary roll tops (of doom)

As easily as a handful of candy canes.

I love Isabel's fancy prancing;

She wants to succeed as much as I do.

She meets every occasion with her patented tail flick,

And her 'no fucks given' attitude. 

Isabel is expressive and sassy as can be;

And I love those curled ears.

She's always game to try anything once,

Even when I want to back away in fear.

I love her big jump in a little body,

And her look that says "excuse me I'm a princess, please."

But she's as honest as the day is long

With a future of endless possibilities. 

I love that Isabel and I started a new sport together.

And, more than anything else, I love spending time with her.

sickie spa day

It's looking more and more likely that we won't have any new flu cases at our farm - yay! The sickies officially get turned out tomorrow - exactly 7 days after all the healthy horses got vaccinated for flu/rhino (giving them enough time for the booster to kick in). Then just one more week of quarantine and we should be all clear. Hurray!

'ooh yea that's the spot' - woody

In the meantime, our 9 patients have been stuck inside in their wooly coats with practically no real handling, while the weather is finally reflecting Spring's sudden (and lovely) arrival. These poor guys were getting so used to only being poked and prodded and getting their temperatures taken... we felt kinda bad. 

So the other day while I cleaned all the stalls another barn mate went down the line with her shedding comb to give some much needed TLC. 

shedding comb ftw

The horses LOVED it - even Isabel, who usually doesn't really seem to enjoy hands-on attention, was all about it. The lesson ponies were perhaps the most grateful, as it's possible that they never really get properly groomed by students, poor things! 

Pretty much without exception, each horse moved off its hay and stood like a statue for the grooming (except when N stopped - then they got all up on her like, 'um 'scuse me, but MOAR please!'). It was pretty sweet :)

that lip tho!

We'll be so happy to put this quarantine behind us too. Even beyond selfish reasons, this has just been so much WORK. No healthy horses were allowed inside the barn - meaning feeding times suddenly became much more complicated. All the healthy horses (21 of them) were fed outside, rather than just getting tossed into their stalls for dinner.

But of course they're all moderately food aggressive so supervision was necessary... meaning we had to hold each individual horse to feed it.... And some of them are soooooooo slowwwwwww omg. Ask me to do any physically demanding chores and it's all good. Ask me to stand around and hold a horse while it eats dinner? I'm dying on my feet of exhaustion and boredom. 

seriously, i'm yawning just looking at this

So again, starting tomorrow the barn mgmt routine should return to normal, with hopefully a quick 7 day countdown to resuming riding again.... can't come soon enough! 

pre-season gear check

Last September, auf der autobahn hosted a blog hop asking to know what's in our tack trunks. At the time I had a single set of tack for all three phases, consisting primarily of a Wintec that fit neither horse nor rider and a cobbled-together bridle. 

we have since updated *almost* everything

We still have one Frankenstein's monster of a bridle for all three phases... But during the off-season I found a close contact saddle that actually fits me AND the horse (revolutionary ideas here, y'all) and upgraded all the related accouterments: show pad, girth, stirrup irons. 

modeled here by my saint of a mare

Then... bc things happen and I can't be held responsible, a dressage saddle found its way to me too. It's another 17" Bates with an adjustable gullet, tho it still has the CAIR panels (eventually will be converted to wool). It just showed up one day at the Maryland Saddlery - what else was I supposed to do?? 

resistance is futile

This saddle is a dream too - and actually my new go-to for trail rides. The irons are from my hunter days and were sitting idly around after I switched my jump saddle to composite stirrups. The leathers were consignment (from the same shop, like everything else in my life haha).

go ahead, take all my money. i ain't even mad!

Our disaster of a bridle at least got a new consignment padded noseband (with optional flash attachment), and I slapped on shiny nameplates & a bridle charm to maybe distract folks from the iffy, mismatched leather lol. 

is it working??

There are a couple other odds and ends needed to create a more polished picture (like, do judges really care if it's a 'dressage' coat or not? do they actually count the buttons??) - and eventually it would be nice to have a second bridle for dressage, tho I'm in no rush. 

nope, no rush at all

But I did manage to snag a stock tie and pin on sale, which continues my theme of using 'shiny' to distract from everything else. 

For Isabel, I also added a full set of Majyk Equipe cross country boots (a definite upgrade from our amazon.com neoprene splint boots). 

What about you - any major updates to your gear this year? Were you like me - did you switch disciplines and need all new stuff?

this decal was obviously the most important addition tho

salvaging the best laid plans: catch riding?

Before our world got turned upside down by the influenza that spread like wildfire through our barn and had everybody panicked about worst case scenarios.... before all that, Isabel and I were systematically and methodically preparing for our season opener at Loch Moy on April 12.

this threw a major wrench in the works

We'd be running Elementary (Intro Test C dressage, max 2'3" stadium and xc) - and felt like the very definition of READY. 

Our first lesson with a new dressage trainer was glorious, and another was scheduled for one week prior to the event. 

My bio-mechanics trainer came back for her first clinic of the year (after apparently having spent the winter riding with Jean Luc Cornille) and had planned to ride Isabel to bring out her inner Diva - making her the very epitome of balance and power.

An appointment with the saddle fitter was on the books too, as our newly converted wool panels needed adjusting. Oh, and I also bought a dressage saddle... surprise! 

well hullo there, shiny!

Plus cross country schooling was in the works with Dan. 

This was all in addition to our regular OF lessons - and probably with a few conditioning trail rides thrown in for good measure. 

Also, you may remember that we had already dipped our toes into the show waters a couple weeks back. Isabel found 2'3" to be a walk in the park, even despite plenty of pilot error. 

So. We were ready. Haha... the best laid plans... Horses sure keep us humble, don't they?

ANYWAY... What's done is done and we're going to give Isabel all the time she needs to recover completely. In the meantime, I have this non-refundable, non-transferable show entry. What to do, what to do? 

I know what I *want* to do: find a catch ride. Our quarantine makes it impossible to use any of our own lesson horses, even tho their herd managed to avoid illness. And the horses at OF haven't gotten their coggins tests in yet for the year...(yes, I asked haha). 

i may or may not have had fantasies about taking Crocket the Pocket Rocket, seen chillin here like the pro that he is

I've sent out a couple feelers, including reaching out to the trainers at Isabel's farm who are well connected in the horse world. So far nothing has stuck, tho they've had a few ideas...

So this might be a lost cause too... Sigh. But wouldn't it be fun?